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rule

n.

1. a guideline or standard that is used to guide responses or behavior or that communicates situational norms.

2. in linguistics, a formal mechanism used to account for the patterns of relationship between grammatical elements in a language. Formal linguistics draws distinctions between rules that are obligatory, optional, categorical, and variable.

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Psychology term of the day

October 5th 2024

lifetime risk

lifetime risk

the odds that one will be diagnosed with a disease or condition during one’s lifetime (usually stated in terms of 70 to 85 years). It is often important for individuals undergoing genetic counseling to differentiate lifetime risk from the risk of being diagnosed with the disease in the next 5 or 10 years.